QuestionThe windshield wipers turned on when we turned off the radio. Now they won't turn off at all, including when the car is not running. I had to disconnect the battery to get the wipers to stop. What could be causing this? Since I don't have the owner's manual, I don't know which fuse controls the wipers.
AnswerHi Mike,
Sorry to be a little slow in responding, I went to bed early.
While I am working with a '93 Chrysler shop manual for the van, and things might have changed (though electrical motor wiring for wipers is not likely to change). There are two possiblities: the self-parking feature (which if bad should still shut off when you turn off the ignition switch as far as I can tell) and the body computer which is "brain" involved with all sorts of wiring centralization not related to the engine electronics. In my manual the fuse that deals with the motor is #5 in the fuse panel under the dash, so try looking at your fuse panel where you should find some label associated with each fuse socket. Find one that says 'wipers' (if not #5) and remove it. If that stops the running on, at least you can drive the van until it starts raining.
My hunch is that there is a short circuit or open circuit at the body computer. Again in my manual that unit is located under the dash, to the right of the steering column down near the floor. It is a rectanuglar thin box with two 25-pin plugs on the end of it, one blue, one natural in color. The wiper terminals are on the blue plug, mainly at the end where pins 22 and 24 are located. So take a look at that plug and the socket to see if there might be some crud around/between the pins and the socket hole into which the plug fits. There could be a short circuit that is causing this "gremlin" due to water leakage from the windshield falling onto the plug and its socket.
I believe that the run-on problem is not related to the self-park switch mechanism in the starter motor proper, but that is also a possiblity. To get at the motor you have to remove the wiper arms and the grill and mesh that cover the air intake where the motor is located. I can give you some tests using jumper wires to determine whether that is the cause of the run-on. So let me know what you find at the body computer plug, and whether you can find the fuse to kill the problem for the time being, and whether you are interested in doing the jumper wire troubleshooting tests.
I should receive a more up to date manual (Haynes '96-'99) from a seller on eBay who mailed it to me earlier this week. But I suspect your '01 is like the '93 in this area.
Roland
